Netherlands Antilles
none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies
parliamentaryIndependence none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Netherlands Antilles as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 112 fields, one of 21 editions from 1990 to 2010.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe.
Geography
Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands
16 fieldsLocation
Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands
Area
total: 960 sq km land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Land use
arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 90% (1993 est.)
Natural hazards
- Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened;
- Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2001 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 25.21% (male 27,332; female 26,169) 15-64 years: 66.99% (male 67,562; female 74,599) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 6,874; female 9,690) (2001 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 74.94 years male: 72.76 years female: 77.22 years (2001 est.)
Languages
Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1981 est.)
Government
Parliamentary; Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999)
20 fieldsCountry name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies
Dependency status
- part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
- full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954;
- Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
Administrative divisions
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) note: each island has its own government
National holiday
Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999);
- Deputy Prime Minister Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER (since NA) note: Miguel POURIER assumed prime ministership following the resignation of Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary;
- governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term;
- following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten;
- election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP
Legislative branch
- unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%;
- seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2;
- no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties;
- current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4
Political parties and leaders
- Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Miguel POURIER];
- C 93 [Stanley BROWN];
- Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM];
- Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ];
- Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY];
- Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS];
- Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS];
- Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA];
- National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER];
- New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA];
- Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon BOOI];
- Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.];
- People's Party or PAPU [Richard Hodi];
- Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS];
- Saba Democratic Labor Movement [Steve HASSELL];
- Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS];
- St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN];
- Serious Alternative People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS];
- Social Action Cause or KAS [Benny DEMEI];
- Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will JOHNSTON];
- Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald LAK, Editha WRIGHT] note: political parties are indigenous to each island
International organization participation
Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate)
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066
Flag description
- white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered;
- five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band;
- the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten
Economy
Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world.
32 fieldsTrading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined slightly in each of the past five years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region.
Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.
Budget
revenues: $710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Industries
tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)
Economic aid - recipient
IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- generally adequate facilities domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: submarine cables - 2;
- satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Television broadcast stations
3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997)
Transportation
7 fieldsMerchant marine
total: 123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,113,774 GRT/1,397,841 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 35, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 19, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 8, Germany 1, Italy 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Military
Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, Police Force
6 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit drugs
money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Netherlands Antilles.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/netherlands-antilles/2001.